This "Virginia Slims" catchphrase of the seventies that sold millions of cigarettes to women describes best the state of Indian advertising today - Benny D'Souza, Creative Consultant


The Genesis
Just a few decades ago, Indian advertising was headed by expatriates. Agencies that held sway were mostly foreign owned. Like JWT, D. J. Keymer (now O&M), Grant Advertising (Contract) & L. A. Stronachs. With a long list of 'Brits' as heads. Like Fielden & Greg Baton to name a few. (It is interesting to note that the first few ad agencies were part of a network that was British in origin - and Madison Avenue had yet to come into its own.)

The first Indian-owned agency was National Advertising, followed by B. Dattaram and Sistas. Then there was the stalwart national effort of setting up Everest Advertising by Ibrahim Patel (until then the Advertising Manager of The Times of India). Not to forget commercial artist Ratan Batra, who set up Ratan Batra Pvt. Ltd and co-founded Communications Artists Guild (CAG). Somewhere along the way a few 'angry young men' split from D.J. Keymer to set up 'Clarion Advertising' with legendary film maker Satyajit Ray as one of its founders.

Pleasant images complimented smart lines. And lip service was paid to research (for good measure). It is rumoured that 'Advertising Age' and 'Campaign' formed the unofficial source of inspiration. Along with the 'Black Book' of course. Ad Club of Bombay published a newsletter called 'Solus', which often featured local ads, to celebrate what could be termed as 'creative coincidence'. The feeling in the advertising community was rosy, bordering on the euphoric.

Till suddenly, a young Turk shook up a complacent ad world.

The Second Wave
Kersey Katrak, a maverick young copywriter who had graduated to client service, started Mass Communication & Marketing (MCM), from the back of his car (his own words). Soon, he assembled the best advertising talent in the country and pitched for every big account. In its decade-old existence, MCM rewrote the rules of 'creativity' in India and inspired a legion of wannabes. Rediffusion, Enterprise, Trikaya … spun off by Arun Nanda, Mohamed Khan, Ravi Gupta … who made the 'creative product' the hero of their agency's offering. The rest as they say, is history.

Next came the mid-90's. With the Indian economy opening up, the international 'big daddies' started rolling into India. First to arrive was Saatchi & Saatchi, followed soon by Leo Burnett, BBDO, McCann Erickson, Y&R, TBWA, et al. During this period, the country was going through an economic slowdown (effected by global recession), which compounded the problems for the ad business. Agencies began down sizing or as some (rightly?) called it 'right sizing'. Ownership of agencies changed hands. Some even shut shop. All in all, the recession lasted longer than one hoped it should.

The Age of the Creative Product
If there was one agency that emerged unscathed by the slowdown, it was Mumbai head-quartered O&M. Under the leadership of Ranjan Kapur and in close collaboration with Creative Director Suresh Mullick, O&M decided to make 'creativity' the fulcrum of the Agency's march to a leadership position. The creative mantle was inherited by Mallick's blue-eyed boy Piyush Pandey who aggressively imputed his dynamic energy to build the agency's creative product. Other agencies who decided to play catch-up included Lintas (now Lowe) spearheaded by National Creative Director Balki (successor of Kersey Katrak). Suddenly creativity was taken seriously by the Indian advertising industry. (Incidentally, WPP owned O&M also successfully proved that creativity could be harnessed with the financial discipline that is typical of WPP companies.)

It was not long before Indian ad persons were sitting on juries at Cannes and elsewhere. Indian campaigns were bagging 'golds' 'silvers' & bronzes' the world over. (All but the 'Agency of the Year' which still continues to elude Indian agencies.)

The Journey Continues
Indian communications professionals have learnt the game. Global recognition is pouring in. Plagiarization is almost unheard of. Gone are the days when art directors lived by the 'Black Book'.

Is Indian advertising racing to its zenith? The recent example of Italian confectionery giant Perfetti's decision to source ads from its Indian office certainly highlights this trend.